All Said and Done
by Ephereal
Summary: Written for Lelouch's birthday. Takes place after R2. The leftover souls are the ones who remember. The leftover souls always suffer. Gen.


A/N: Hey guys! I wrote this a while ago and it was meant for Lelouch's birthday. I wrote it LATE and I completely forgot that I had a fanfiction account. I do fail. Well it was short and I had fun writing it :) Please enjoy!

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Rivalz bit back a laugh as he watched one of his college buddies try to down yet another beer. He nodded at the amused bartender and slid a few bills his way. "Busy night?" the older man asked jovially. Rivalz shrugged as his eyes went a little misty, half from the alcohol, half from nostalgia.

"Hey mister, it's the fifth right now isn't it?"

Tamaki blinked in confusion and craned his neck a bit to check the calender. "Uh, yeah it is. Why do you ask?"

Rivalz laughed again, albeit differently than before. It's bitter and twinged with regret and affection. He raised his eyes to meet the confused Japanese's and briefly thought of a time when he would've called him _Eleven._

"Nothing. Hit me with another one yeah?"

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* * *

Lloyd wasn't quite sure why his wife had set up such an elaborate dinner. It was delicious of course - anything was delicious compared to _Cecile's_ cooking, but still, he couldn't fathom the reason why.

He truly had quite an eccentric wife. Then again, he was one to talk.

But when it was time to end the dinner with a classic red wine, Milly Ashford came out with three wine glasses instead of two. Lloyd raised a pale eyebrow as she set the spare glass next to hers. "Expecting someone are we?" he drawled, disguising his curiosity with disdain.

His normally cheerful wife shook her head slowly. "Not someone that's here," she whispered and poured the wine into the glass. She sat down and lifted her own glass to her husband's.

"To our health," she declared firmly. Lloyd's eyebrow remained raised when he clinked his glass against hers.

A truly eccentric wife indeed.

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* * *

Tianzi brought mixed zinnias to the hospital this time. Xingke always looked forward to her hospital visits, and her bright floral companions. He even had a book so he could distinguish the meaning of the flowers she brought. It had became a game of sorts.

He flipped through the small book as the girl put the flowers into a vase. "In memory of a dear friend?" he read aloud. He turned to the girl in confusion, it increasing when he saw the profound sadness in her crimson eyes.

"What - "

"I honestly believed that he was a friend," she murmured softly. "He was always a friend."

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* * *

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Gino pouted. He had finally managed to convince the fiery redheaded pilot to go out on a date with him, but she wouldn't stop spacing out! Her responses were bland as if her senses had been dulled. She almost ran into a goddamn pole, for Britannia's sake.

"Kallen," Gino said sharply, pulling her by her elbow so that she didn't accidentally walk into traffic. Her unfocused gaze landed on his disgruntled expression.

"...hm?" Gino resisted the urge to sigh. This side of Kallen was _different_, but charming nonetheless. As long as she could keep herself from getting killed, that was.

"Something on your mind?" His words seemed to have struck something inside her because the light was back in her eyes and she was shoving him down the street, head bowed so he couldn't see her face, no matter what angle he leaned back at.

"What are you doing you dimwit? The restaurant's _this way_ - "

"Kallen."

She stopped and laid her head tiredly against his back. Gino felt her shaking but chose not to say anything. This was a private moment and it was purely chance that he bear witness to it.

"...I kinda just feel like getting pizza." The usually strong girl sounded so _small_ and reserved and Gino just wanted to scoop her in his arms and hide her away from the rest of the world.

"Pizza it is then," he instantly agreed, discarding plans of a romantic lunch at that new Partisan French-style restaurant.

...Perhaps for date two.

Some of the light was back in Kallen's eyes when she stepped back into step next to him, though judging by their unusual brightness, Gino could tell she had been crying. But Gino didn't question her.

"We should get some Tabasco sauce too."

Gino didn't question any of it at all.

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* * *

Ougi Kaname was, to put it bluntly, _freaking out._ He had just got the call that his wife had suddenly gone into labor and was currently rushing through hospital halls to get to her.

"Excuse me," he managed to say the the various nurses and patients he bumped into. He barely felt their annoyed hisses or glares over the intense pounding of his own heart. _This is really happening..._

Ougi nearly sobbed in relief when he finally reached Viletta's room. He kicked open the door with a loud, "Viletta!" only to hear the sound of a baby crying.

Despite everything, Viletta managed to spare her scatterbrained husband a tired smile. "Come Ougi," she gestured to the baffled man. "I think she wants you."

Ougi stumbled over to the crying bundle his wife offered him and awkwardly took the baby girl in his arms. Teary golden eyes stared up at him and he felt an unknown warmth spread in his chest.

Viletta looked on at the new father and baby with a pleased expression. "So, what shall we call her?"

"Lucy," Ougi spoke without thinking. Viletta's mouth formed a surprised 'o.'

"...Britannian?"

Ougi blinked and cuddled the now quiet Lucy closer to his chest. "Well, yes. And I suppose we could call her Lulu, couldn't we?"

Viletta laughed. "What an absurd nickname." Ougi stuck his tongue out at his wife and began to dance around the room, Lucy up in the air, singing "Lulu, Lulu, Lulu," in a ridiculously high pitched voice.

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* * *

Suzaku briefly wondered if he should've brought Nunally with him, or even Kallen, but thoughts of any other person instantly vanished when he approached the white gravestone at last.

His hands shakily rose and removed Zero's mask from his face. It landed softly before Lelouch vi Britannia's grave in its simple white marble glory.

Suzaku supposed he should've kneeled or something. Bowed to show some respect. Said some words of thanks.

But he didn't. All those things belonged to the Emperor of Britannia, to Zero, leader of the Black Knights.

Suzaku didn't come to see any of those people.

He came to see his best friend.

With that thought in mind, he kicked the mask as far as it would go and stripped down to his boxers. He sat, cross-legged, in front of Lelouch's grave and was reminded of his training as a boy.

Suzaku smiled a sad smile. "Did I ever tell you about the time Tohdoh sensei made me go catch fish with for the very first time? I got pneumonia!"

He thought of a pink-haired princess and then a red-haired pilot and more incidents with fish. He blinked back tears.

"I wish you could've been there."

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* * *

-

The Empress graced her Japanese friend with one last smile as Kaguya ushered the other members of the committee out of the room. Nunally waited until she could no longer hear the faint pounding of footsteps. The smile dropped from her face as she rose to her feet.

It was time to return to her quarters.

As she walked, the ever constant Schneizel seemed to appear from the shadows and was instantly at her side. She blinked and looked at her older brother's expressionless face.

"Schneizel-nii...if you wouldn't mind I'd like to be alone today."

Schneizel bowed stiffly. "Of course, Your Majesty."

Nunally gave him a small smile before opening her door and slipping inside her room. She locked it as soon as she got in to prevent any further disruption.

The room was quiet aside for Nunally's small shaky breaths. She made her way to the left corner of the room where her old wheelchair stood, lonely from the lack of use during the past year. She opened the cupboard next to the chair and took out a small wooden box. After staring at it for a while she opened it to reveal little squares of brightly colored paper. Fingers reached in and grabbed a pink square.

Heart pounding, she clutched the square with both hands and sat back on her seat. Nunally closed her eyes. "I hope I still know how to do this," she whispered to the air.

Then, eyes still shut, she began to fold and let herself _remember._

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* * *

A green haired witch looked up to the sky with a bittersweet smile. "Happy birthday," was whispered softly before the words and the witch were swallowed up by the wind, gone without a trace.

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A/N: ...sob I will never not love this series 3333 Reviews are, as always, a thing of beauty and joy!

_-Shii_


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